Friday, 14 August 2015

I wasn't sure if I was going to come, always on the verge of not. But I'm here and I'm glad and I'm sharing with Megan a hotel room up the road straight out of the set of Bold and the Beautiful. It's so bad it's good. I got there first and she just walked in and laughed and laughed.

Presented without comment #BrookeRidgeBrookeRidge

I accidentally found out why I was coming to Problogger while I was waiting at Sydney Airport, phone on charge, being sniffed out by other techno homies who needed to charge their devices. I became boss of the electrical socket, telling people which one worked, which one was broken, just take the massage chair lead out and use that one, etc. Suddenly a woman came and sat next to me and I had one of the most inspiring, incredible, synchronistic, mind-blowing conversation of my entire life. I can't say what we talked about, too full-on and private. But she changed me, that chance encounter and the way her and I found each other in that whole big busy airport. We needed to meet and we did, by some invisible forces guiding us to each other. Unbelievable. (Then I sat next to a really cranky pinch-faced lady on the plane and knew if I took my hoodie off she'd look at my tattoos so I didn't take my hoodie off because I wasn't in the mood to be judged right then.)

This is what it feels like to meet other bloggers. I write on this website to connect and identify and share my stories with people who in turn identify and comment and share themselves. Giving up little pieces of us .. blogging for me has always been about sharing my life and my stories with people. I've ended up on incredible adventures, met amazing people, met arsehole people, travelled the world to conferences and places I would never had gone otherwise. Through my World Vision Ambassadorship I had the honour of visiting the most remote areas in Africa with villages so secluded they looked like pictures straight out of the Bible. The biggest honour I've had through my blog is the crazy big stuff that happened on account of me sharing the crazy big stuff. I've faltered a lot in life so I've faltered here. Especially lately after the brutal grief and pain following the suicide of my brother. And all the fallout that happened afterwards. And then the fallout from the fallout. Gotta owie.

But I'm here, right now, listening to Darren Rowse and keynote speakers .. surrounded by a huge array of people who have websites about all different things like a mixed bag of fruit. I'm back connecting again, trying not to freak out, taking the next steps to something .. bigger. I don't even know what that is yet. It's exciting. It feels good to be excited again. And happy .. a little bit happy.